Bowling ball insert pad



Jan 35, 1957 c. F; MITCHELL 2,777,693

BOWLING BALL INSERT PAD Filed Aug. 8, 1955 9 IN V EN TOR.

United States Paten BQW GB LIA PAD- Charles F,"NIitchell,1Akmn,Ghio

Application August -8, 1955, Serial No; 526,855.

1,.Cliiil1l,Z I (CI. 2739-63) Therinvention; relatesto .bowling; and;especially gto; insertrpadsi providedz'for. use in .the-rthumb hole, ofa.

bowling: ball.

Even 'thoughwthe; balls: are made .to specialg-order, still; the bowlermay not have the desired tight grip and/or extremely-i-accurate controlover theball when grasping and throwing ;the: bal1e,and :he, st i.ll mayletithe ball drop or, slip. Thuamany bowlers heretofore have used sometype ,ofpads positioned the thumb and/.or finger holes oft-the pbaihtofacilitate obtaining. an, especially .Tsecure grip-on the-ball'so'as tohave maximum control over the ball at the instant of release of the ballfor passage down the alley for the bowling action but even then someslippage may occur. Some of such insert pads have been of the type shownand described in my own prior U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,708,578, and Inow have found that for some uses and/ or people, the bowling ballinsert pads may have a slightly difierent construction from that shownin my prior patent, and still give very desirable results.

One important object of the present invention is to provide a bowlingball insert pad characterized by the substantially smooth surfacethereof broken only by one irregularity in the surface of the pad at theregion thereof normally contacting the ball of the thumb engaging thepad.

Another object of the invention is to provide an insert for the thumbhole of a bowling ball to insure against the ball slipping from thegrasp of a bowler in the act of rolling the ball.

Another object of the invention is to provide an insert pad for use inthe thumb hole of a bowling ball for aiding in preventing any suctiondeveloping between a thumb and the pad.

Another object of the invention is to make a sturdy, durable pad of theclass described of low cost to aid in accurately controlling a bowlingball when such insert pad is positioned in a thumb hole of the bowlingball.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will bemade more apparent as the specification proceeds.

Reference now should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, partially broken away and shown in section, of abowling ball having an insert pad embodying the principles of theinvention inserted therein, which ball is shown being grasped by abowler;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through the insert padof Fig. 1 and associated portions of the bowling ball;

2,777,693 Patented Jan. 15, 1957 2 Figs}; is ar-perspective view of theinsert pad: of Figs. 1-: and 2janda:

Fig.4 is a:fragmentary.enlarged section ofthe thumb patch-wi-th: .abackingv strip. thereon.

Whenzrrefernng: to..corresp0ncling parts shown in the drawingsaandrdescribed in the specification, correspondingnumerals. are-fused'to: facilitate comparison between such patch and: being: adapted: tobe. secured by the: other:

coatingatoi thetside ofazhole in '.-3. .'bOW1lDg-balll The: patchuis ofra size to extend substantially the fulllength of a holeiiriiwhich itispositionedrand'has a body portion' of-juniformi'thickness except fonahtransversely extending recessiextendingtcompletely: across. thepatchradjacent the loweniend ofcthepatch. .when inserted :in a bowlingball hole.

Nowreferringrin detail toztthe structureshown in the: drawings, abowling ball is illustrated as a whole by 'the numerahl';Thissbowlingibalkhasva thumb hole2provided:thereinz-andcaesirhilarfingerreceiving hole-3 pro-- videdinranoth'er portion :of the :periphery of 'the bowling ball. Fig. 1 bestshows how the thumb and finger of a personisizhandzindicated at HY-isengagedgwith these holes providedriin the bowling ball to thespecifications and/01 siz'ezrequirement'. of. the person-'usingsuchbowling ball 1. Thesetholestiiandzfiiaretusually cylindrical in shapeand extend: approximately two inches-into: the bowling ball from thesufrace thereof and may have tapered lower ends for convenience indrilling such holes in the ball.

As many finger holes as desired may be provided in this bowling ball andone or more patches as shown and described in may previously mentionedpatent may be provided in one or more of the finger holes 3. Suchpatches give particularly good results in the finger holes for engaginga bowlers finger.

The insert pad of the invention is indicated as a whole by the numeral 4and it preferably is made from a uniform mixture of cork and rubber orrubber-like materials. Preferably the cork is present in about 60%proportion by weight and the rubber or rubber-like material is presentin about 40% by weight. One rubber material which is particularly usefulin making up the insert pads 4 is the synthetic rubber neoprene and thefinished rubbercork composition has a Shore durometer hardness ofbetween about 45 and 65. This insert pad 4 is of uniform thicknessthroughout and preferably is less than A of an inch thick and usuallycloser to about of an inch thick. Usually the outer end of the insertpad 4 is tapered to a feather edge as indicated at 5. The particularcomposition mentioned herein has very desirable properties in that itprovides sufiicient cork for absorbing moisture of the players hand whenin contact therewith but yet it provides sufiicient flexibility orresilience in the pad as to help the person to obtain a firm grasp onthe bowling ball.

As an important feature of the insert pad 4, it is provided with atransversely extending recess 6 adjacent the lower, or inner endthereof. This recess 6 is provided in spaced relationship to the loweror bottom end of the insert pad 4 in the portion thereof adapted to beengaged with the ball of the thumb in such thumb hole 2. Gne importantfunction of the recess 6 is to prevent the formation of any suctionbetween the players thumb and the insert pad 4 so that no diificulty isencountered in releasing the ball at the exact instant and in the exactmanner desired by the bowling player.

Ususally the insert pad 4 is of such size as to extend substantially onethird around the circumference of the bowling ball hole in which it ispositioned.

in order to secure the insert pad in position, it is provided with anadhesive member 7 that preferably has a coating of a pressure-sensitiveadhesive 8 and 9 on each face thereof. The layer of adhesive 8 is usedfor securing the adhesive member 7 to the remainder of the insert pad 4,while the layer 9 is provided on the opposite face of such adhesivemember for use in securing the insert pad 4 to the wall of the bowlingball thumb hole 2, as shown in the drawing. Normally this insert padwould be secured to the thumb hole on the side thereof toward theadjacent finger holes in the bowling ball. The pressure sensitive membermay comprise a strip of paper or fabric which is coated on both sideswith the adhesive material to provide the binder means as stated herein.A strip of cover paper 10 is provided over the layer 9 of adhesivematerial so that such protective cover can be removed when it is desiredto secure the insert pad into a bowling ball hole and be retainedpermanently therein by pressing the insert pad into the desiredposition.

The cork used in the insert pad 4 is in the form of cork granules and isintimately mixed with the rubber material to provide a homogeneous massfrom which the insert pads can be produced in continuous strip form andeasily be cut to the desired individual insert pad size and bowlers.Hence it is considered that the objects. of the invention have beenachieved.

While one complete embodiment of the invention has been disclosedherein, it will be appreciated that modification of this particularembodiment of the invention may be resorted to without departing fromthe scope of the invention as defined in the appended claimp What Iclaim is:

A grip means for use with a bowling ball having a thumb hole therein,which grip means comprises a patch of resilient material having about60% cork and about 40% of a rubber-like material therein and with thecork being present in small particles distributed uniformly throughoutthe patch, and an adhesive member including a base with apressure-sensitive adhesive coating on both sides thereof adhesivelysecured by one coating of the pressure-sensitive adhesive to the patchand being adapted to be secured by the other coating to a side of a holein a ball, said patch being of a size to extend substantially the fulllength of and about one third of the circumference of the hole in whichit is positioned, the patch being of uniform thickness throughout exceptfor a portion tapering substantially to a feather edge at the top of thepatch and a transversely extending recess extending completely acrossthe patch adjacent but spaced from the lower end thereof to aid inpreventing suctional engagement of a bowlers thumb and said patchbecause of the plurality of foraminous cork areas exposed for suctionand gripping action on the surface of the patch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,469,268 Jerome May 3, 1949 2,518,335 Klinkosh Aug. 8, 1950 2,708,578Mitchell May 17, 1955

